Cryptocurrencies are back in a big way, and now is a good time to look for cryptos with growth potential. After enduring a brutal downturn throughout 2022, digital coins and tokens rallied hard last fall and that momentum has carried into the new year. So far in 2024, the largest cryptocurrencies are up more than 40% each, outpacing the 8% year-to-date gain in the benchmark S&P 500 index and the 10% increase in the technology-laden Nasdaq index. With many of the leading cryptos approaching their all-time highs, analysts have been revising their price predictions while prominent investors continue to load up on digital assets. Many market observers expect the outperformance in crypto to carry on, fueled by multiple catalysts that are coming in the near term. Here are three cryptos with tenfold growth potential by 2026.
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
The price of Ethereum (ETH-USD) has risen 50% in the last month and is nearing $3,500. ETH is currently at its highest level since April 2022. The current rally has been sparked by excitement related to the upcoming approval of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Ethereum’s surge since the start of February has outpaced all other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC-USD), according to market data. Over the past 12 months, Ethereum’s price has more than doubled, rising 120%.
The price of Ethereum has been climbing on expectations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve spot Ethereum ETFs by this summer. The Wall Street regulator approved spot Bitcoin ETFs for the American market in January and now faces a deadline at the end of May to approve similar Ethereum ETFs. Analysts see ETF approval as a major potential catalyst for Ethereum as it would allow people and institutions to invest in the crypto without having to physically own the tokens.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD)
Speaking of Bitcoin, the new crop of spot ETFs has attracted massive amounts of capital in a little more than a month since their approval, with some funds seeing inflows of more than $2 billion. After a brief dip immediately after the SEC approved the spot ETFs in January, the price of BTC has been surging as well, having risen 45% in the past month. At $62,000, Bitcoin is closing in on its all-time high of just below $69,000 reached in November 2021. Many analysts see the price topping $100,000 by year’s end.
While the ETFs have served as a big catalyst for Bitcoin, the largest crypto by market cap has another upcoming catalyst in the form of a halving event that’s scheduled to take place this April. A halving event occurs every four years, with the rewards for mining Bitcoin literally cut in half. Past halving events have led to big jumps in the price of BTC, and crypto bulls are expecting another huge rally this spring. Since bottoming under $16,500 in December 2022, Bitcoin’s price has nearly quadrupled.
Solana (SOL-USD)
For a crypto that has outpaced both Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past year, look to Solana (SOL-USD). The smaller digital token has seen its price rise more than 500% in the last 12 months to trade at $129, its highest level since April 2022. In the past month, the price of SOL has gained 32% and shows no signs of slowing down. Sharing many of the same characteristics as Ethereum, Solana is one of the more practical cryptos to own as it has real utility and helps to facilitate decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions.
However, many crypto bulls prefer Solana over ETH and claim that it is the superior cryptocurrency given that it can execute much larger DeFi transactions at much faster speeds than Ethereum. SOL can process 50,000 DeFi transactions per second compared to 13 transactions per second that can be processed by Ethereum. Investors also continue to expect big things from “Solana Pay,” a direct transaction between merchants and consumers that charges zero fees.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
